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The Fiend War
The Fiend War is the largest major conflict in the history of the world of Havenfall, set on the Continent of Davos and fought primarily between the armies of the Fiend King and the united front of the three major Davos powers, the Draconic Empire, the recently formed Human Colonies, and the Dwarven Kingdom. While being fought largely between these two forces, the conflict would end up including the United Elven Nations of Enora and the freed slaves of Io’xuzush, and the effects of the war have spread throughout all the various people's and nations of the world. Despite taking place centuries before the campaign is set, the ramifications of the war are felt still, and the war itself is considered the major defining event of the age. Rise of the Fiend King Narjhan K'vorn, more commonly known by his title "The Fiend King" was a Dragonborn soldier from one of the outer colonies of the empire. He joined up at a young age and began rising to prominence during the Revolutions, when the Dragonborn peasantry began to rally against the aristocracy and the Emperor in particular. While defending the cities against the rampaging mobs, K'vorn began to make a name for himself as a powerful war caster and keeper of order during these trying times. He and his troops were able to hold out until the Revolution was put down and he was awarded the Golden Scale, as a sign of valor and strength in combat. Having risen to the rank of Commander by this point, he began to lead some expeditions into the unclaimed lands, with plans to expand the empire in the name of Emperor Arjuhn. One expedition lead him and his team up north into the uncharted lands of Davos. The details of the expedition remain unknown, but most records indicate that he was to lead some scholars into an abandoned city of the ancient times, in hopes of finding habitable land to expand into and some signs of ancient Dragonborn culture. After seven months away, Narjhan K'vorn was the only one to return. Despite being questioned by many, K'vorn would claim no memory of the events, only repeating "those eyes...those...eyes" over and over when pushed. Having entered a new age of peace in Davos and given his previous reputation, K'vorn was promoted into both a less active branch of the military, and into the Draconic Nobility at large. It was said that he and Emperor Arjuhn had become fast friends, and they would speak of their views of the empire, other nations, their families, etc. Rumor has it that K'vorn had even taught the Emperor some of his magics and shared with him some previously untold war stories. K'vorn was also known to spend many nights in the palace following long gatherings and dinners with some of the larger powers of the Empire. It was one such night that K'vorn was stayin in the palace that he enacted what would later be named "Ixen'thurkear" or "The Night of Fire". In the middle of the night, K'vorn, accompanied by only the military figures closest and most trusting of him, opened a portal between Davos and the Seven Hells, bringing forth an army of Tieflings, Archdemons and other infernal soldiers all under his command. With this new seemingly endless army of damned souls, K'vorn assassinated the Emperor, his family, his cabinet and anyone else in the palace not already under his sway. With this act, K'vorn took his place as the new Emperor of the Draconic Empire, the newly crowned "Fiend King" and began a reign of terror throughout Davos that would never be forgotten. The Fiend King's Conquest After taking over the Draconic Empire from the inside, the Fiend King turned his attention to the rest of Davos. Using the promise of a new, greater empire, K'vorn was able to turn a number of the nobility and even many of the people of the Empire to his side, and his armies forced those who would turn against him into hiding outside of the empire's walls or into graves. The expansion was initially slow. Some border colonies that had broken free were recaptured. The remaining unclaimed territories were colonized, and several smaller Halfling civilizations were taken over and evacuated, without much fuss. War was almost entirely avoided by the other civilizations of Davos. The growing army of the Fiend King and the rising strength of the new Draconic Empire scared the other, scattered nations. The general idea was that if they allowed the Draconic Empire to expand to its desired size, they would be left alone. However, as the expansion became more and more daring and the empire began taking up more and more land, this mentality began to falter. While there had been some resistance from the surrounding human, halfling and gnomish colonies that were being infringed upon, the first true defense against the encroaching army was made by a Gnomish village, Sol Edhil. Spotting the invading force on their way up, the small gnome force was able to catch them at a narrow pass and, through clever use of the terrain, force the invaders into the swamp lands below and decimate the forces. While the gnomes were ultimately unsuccessful in beating back the mixture of Draconic and Demonic forces approaching (the town was eventually taken over and burned down for good measure), the legend of their ability to at least wound the forces of the Fiend King spread throughout Davos.